Madagascar: Practical Information.

Submitted by maria on Sun, 01/10/2017 - 21:35

Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world and exploring it is an adventure.

Alleé des Baobabs

Paradisiacal beaches, jungle, mountains, spiny desert, baobabs, lemurs, chameleons, butterflies, whales, birds, waterfalls, zebus and wonderful people are some of the endless possibilities the country offers. Welcome to Africa.

Visa

Travellers from all countries need a visa to enter Madagascar, this can be obtained as soon as you land at the airport, you need to ensure you have a return flight ticket, passport valid for at least six months, for periods less than ninety days costs 20 euros. The price varies according to the length of stay.

Money

The current money is Ariary (Ar) (1 Euro=3,500 Ar).

It is important to carry enough cash although there are ATMs in the main cities. Payment by credit card is not accepted in most establishments.

Language

Malagasy and French. Salama (hello), veloma (goodbye), misaotra (thank you)

Brick Kilns

Transportation

It is possible to reach all destinations by bus or public truck, the local buses known as taxi brousse are vans that leave as they fill up (always above their capacity), so depending on the destination the wait can last for hours. That's why it's important to get to the station first thing in the morning when there are more travellers. The tickets are negotiated in the different agencies and you have to be careful with those who try to help you with the luggage, they are commission agents and sometimes they ask you almost more than the ticket is worth for getting it into the vehicle. Sometimes they escort the taxi from outside the station to get a tip.

Taxi Brousse run on the main roads that are paved (the least), for the unpaved ones they use trucks.

Many travellers rent a vehicle with a driver for the whole journey, it is much more comfortable but it is more interesting to use public transport and to be able to share experiences with the locals.

For the stretch from Toliara to Morondava and then to Bekopaka and back to Morondava we hired a 4x4 jeep with driver, since it was not feasible to use the truck that serves as a public bus. There is no asphalted road and practically no signposting between these towns (especially on the first stretch), so an expert driver is indispensable. In our case, the driver and a companion, Sanson and Pascal, were present. Although they only spoke Malagasy we understood each other perfectly, our experience was fantastic. Contact to hire jeep 4x4 Jose de Tulear, phone 034 85 012 72.

To cross the main rivers in the non-asphalted areas a kind of ferry is used, sometimes with a motor and sometimes with ropes. They are very basic boats with a wooden platform of different sizes.

Another way to move around the country is by plane, there are several airports in the main cities although tickets are expensive.

In the cities, taxis, tuk tuk, pousse pousse and ciclo pousse pousse are common. They are very cheap but you always have to negotiate first.

To visit the National Parks a guide is obligatory, sometimes in the accommodations there are guides available as it happened to us in Ambalavao with Jese who helped us to get a guide in Isalo and a trustworthy contact for the 4x4.

Fianarantsoa

Accommodation

Cheap accommodation is good value for money, although it does not usually have hot water, or even running water, but they do take care of heating water if necessary.

In some areas there is not much economic hotel offer as in the case of Ranohira, so it is interesting to try to book in advance.

We just did it here. At Ifaty we didn't make a reservation and had a hard time finding cheap accommodation, the one recommended by Lonely Planet (Auberge'In) didn't have good hygienic conditions, but nevertheless we found Chez Danielle and Leontine a charming place thanks to Carol from Chez Carol.

Health

Before starting your trip, contact the international health service. Don't forget a first aid kit with the essentials: medicines, betadine, antibiotic ointment, syringes, flint, bandages, band-aids, scissors, water pills, mosquito repellent, sun cream.

Security

At the time of writing this blog, Madagascar is in a stable political situation, with general elections planned for autumn 2018, but before you travel, please check the Ministry's link.

Don't forget to take out travel insurance before you travel, not only for health but also for civil liability.

Dangers and warnings

Insecurity has increased in cities like the capital Antananarivo. It is not advisable to walk at night in the main cities of the country like Toliara or Tana. There have been reports of muggings of tourists at night. For greater security you should be accompanied by a local and use the taxi service, Tana is not a safe city at nightfall especially in the area of the lake.

Silk workers in Ambalavao

Gastronomy

Malagasy food has a strong French influence (also Indian and Arab) and it is easy to find baguettes in the bakeries spread throughout many cities in the country. Tomatoes, shallot, garlic, ginger and curry are the most common ingredients. Ravitoto is one of its most outstanding dishes together with romazava, both meat dishes.

Madagascar has large plantations of spices such as vanilla.

Among the main drinks are tea, coffee and natural juices. Malagasy rum is very cheap and its consumption is very widespread. The Three Horses beer is quite good.

The cheapest restaurants are the hotely, they are simple dishes that include rice (laoka) and meat or fish, most of them offer delicious food.

Banana and rice cakes can also be found in the street stalls, as well as a kind of very sweet brown cookie that they love.

Breakfast starts at 6 a.m., lunch from 12 to 2 p.m. and dinner from 6.30 to 9 p.m.